A Superpowered Afternoon!

Most of the campers were huddled around the picnic tables. Whenever the wind blew or a bird sang, someone would jump. Every now and then, one of the braver kids would look toward the shadows in the woods.

Gloriosa just couldn’t figure out what was going on. “Why aren’t you out there windsurfing?” she asked in concern. “Or making dream catchers? Or playing tetherball?”

Lyra and Trixie exchanged a knowing glance.

“We’re not doing anything with some angry nature monster running around,” Lyra told Gloriosa.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie,” explained Trixie, “is totally creeped out.”

“Nature monster? There’s no nature monster,” Gloriosa said sternly. Recovering, she added in an extra-sweet voice, “Please, everyone should be having fun. It was just a silly story. Now who wants to go windsurfing?”

One of the kids squinted, looking out at the water. “It’s not even windy.”

“Don’t worry,” chirped Gloriosa. “Just get changed and meet me there. I promise it will be super fun.”

The campers shrugged. If Gloriosa was going to be there, maybe everything would be all right. They might as well give it a shot.

Down at the dock, Rainbow Dash and the other girls were back at work with repairs. Rainbow Dash had just carried a heavy plank. “Phew,” she said, placing it down. She had walked very slowly across camp, as slowly as she could because she didn’t want to take off again at super speed—but that made the work even harder. She looked over at Rarity, who was sewing something. “You gonna give us a hand here, Rarity?”

“Would really love to,” answered Rarity. “But I really need to get the stitching on this poncho done if it’s going to make it into the camp fashion show. Though at the pace you all are working, I don’t know that the runway will ever be finished.”

“The dock,” Applejack corrected her. “The dock is our gift to the camp. And it’s gonna get finished. That is, if Rainbow Dash would hurry up and bring me more wood.”

Applejack was trying to nail a section of the railing onto the dock. She struck it gently, very gently, with her hammer—and nothing happened. She struck it again—very gently. Ten swings later, she managed to drive in the first nail.

Rainbow Dash was hesitant. “I can’t go any faster,” she complained. “I don’t want to end up in the woods again—”

“Don’t be silly,” Applejack interrupted. Rainbow Dash pointed at Applejack’s extracareful hammering. She clearly didn’t want to risk overdoing it like she had at the climbing wall.

“Really?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“I know I said we should try to forget about all this new magic business, but I can’t.” Applejack sighed. “All I wanna do is finish this dock, but I’m scared of using any of my strength. What if I hammer the board into splinters?”

“And I really want to help out,” added Fluttershy. “But I’m afraid of what might come to help me.” She had her eyes on a nearby squirrel.

Applejack was out of nails.

“Oh, here you go,” said Pinkie Pie, tossing her a small pack.

“No!” screamed all the girls together, remembering the mess-hall mess.

Applejack dove away from the pack of nails like it was a grenade. She covered her head with her arms. Rarity produced her glittering diamond force-field cocoon. The pack of nails landed right next to Applejack.

“What?” Pinkie Pie wondered. Then she smiled, getting it. “Oooh, did you think the nails would explode like the sprinkles? Wow! Glad that didn’t happen, huh?”

Rarity apologized for her force field. “Sorry, girls. I didn’t mean to. I don’t know how to control this.”

“It’s okay,” said Rainbow Dash.

“None of us does.” Fluttershy sighed.

“Which is why we shouldn’t pretend this isn’t happening.” Sunset Shimmer had made a decision.

“Are you magic now, too?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“It started last night,” Sunset Shimmer revealed. “I can touch people and it’s like I can feel what they’re feeling and see their memories.”

“Oooh!” squealed Pinkie Pie. “Fancy. Try me! Try me!”

Pinkie Pie grabbed on to Sunset Shimmer’s arm. Sunset Shimmer saw pink cotton-candy clouds. It was like a movie playing in her head. She heard peppy party music. She saw a whole line of identical Pinkie Pies all diving at the same time into a giant swimming pool filled with fudge. They swam and kicked and danced. At last, there was only one Pinkie Pie. As she stepped out of the pool, a giant jelly bean handed her a towel. A marshmallow towel! Pinkie Pie gobbled it up.

Sunset pulled her hand free, laughing. “So that’s why you’re always so happy,” she said to Pinkie Pie.

“Yup!” Pinkie Pie grinned.

But Sunset Shimmer’s glimpse into Pinkie Pie’s mind made her realize something important. She turned to the group. “Girls, we can’t just brush aside these powers because it doesn’t seem like the ideal time to get them. What if it turns out that they could actually make things better?”

Rainbow Dash looked skeptical. Fluttershy seemed frightened. Pinkie Pie was the only one who seemed to agree with her.

“So you have magic,” Sunset Shimmer sang to her friends. “And it’s not that great. But when it found you, it was fate. It’s scary but it’s wonderful, too. Just keep at it, and you’ll agree. Embrace the magic, then you’ll see. It’s better once you know it’s part of you.”

She smiled at Pinkie Pie. “Oh, to have your energy! How amazing life would be! You can turn the everyday into a blast.”

Sunset Shimmer’s eyes fell on Rainbow Dash. “Super speed, it’s so much fun. In five seconds, you’ll get it done! You really know what it means to be fast!”

Sunset Shimmer’s words inspired Pinkie Pie, and she charged a small amount of sprinkles and placed them on the end of a wooden board. They exploded—making holes in the wood so they could be easily nailed together. In no time at all, Rainbow Dash was able to assemble them into benches. Pinkie Pie high-fived Rainbow Dash.

Sunset Shimmer was delighted. “If you embrace the magic, there is so much you can do. If you just embrace the magic, you’ll find a better you.”

Applejack took a breath. It was time to try out her superpowers. She picked up all the benches like they were twigs. There was a boulder in her path and she pushed it out of her way with her foot like it was a marble. She grinned from ear to ear. That wasn’t so bad.

“Super strength, what’s there to say?” Sunset Shimmer beamed. “There’s nothing standing in your way. Moving things with ease? It must be swell!”

In her exuberance, Applejack didn’t see a rope, and she tripped over it. Just as she was about to fall in the water, Rarity stretched out her hand and created a shimmery shield. Applejack landed on it and slid to dry land.

Sunset Shimmer clapped her hands. “Crystal shield, it’s more than bling. Protect your friends from anything. Even if that something is themselves!”

Fluttershy was inspired. She carried the sign she’d been making over to the woods, and a flock of birds flew behind her. A bear appeared and helped her post the sign. The birds decorated it with flowers and vines. This was better than anything Fluttershy had ever imagined.

“Animals, they’re mysteries,” sang Sunset Shimmer. “To talk to them is quite a feat. I’m sure they have interesting things to say.”

A bird trilled in Fluttershy’s ear. Fluttershy nodded and laughed.

All of Sunset Shimmer’s friends were magic. Magically magic.

“As for me,” realized Sunset Shimmer, “I’ve got the touch. Close to someone, I can learn so much. It’s a power I hope never goes away.”

The girls were happy. They were ready to embrace the magic! They were ready to discover these strange new powers. They were ready to be themselves in a whole new way.

They worked on the dock. They sang together.

“If you just embrace the magic, there is so much you can do!”

Magic didn’t have to be scary. It could be wonderful!